Language of the Blues - Edmonton Blues Society

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Songs:
Gris- - Dr. John (Mac Rebennack)
- Sleepy John Estes (John Adam Estes)
G U T BU C K E T, G U T B ASS
On plantations down South during slavery, the hogs were slaughtered in December. The
hams and chops went to the main house, and the hog guts, ears, feet, and other leftovers
were given to the slaves. The gutbucket was the bucket the slaves would take to the
plantation slaughterhouse and use to collect the hog parts. Slaves improvised dishes with
chitlins, ham hocks, hog maws
Gutbucket also referred to the bucket placed underneath whiskey barrels in dive bars, or
- gutbucket blues, a gutbucket joint, etc. A gutbucket joint was
also sometimes called a bucket-of-blood joint due to the number of shankings that tended
to take place in these establishments. (see shank)
Country blues musicians would take a gutbucket and turn it upside down on the ground to
create an African-style earth bow. According
observations of African earth-
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turning a galvanized tin washtub
upside down, and stretching a wire from the tub to the top of a stick attached to it. To do
this, stretch a cord from the center of the bucket to the top of a broomstick. Place the stick
against the lip of the tub, so that when the string is plucked it makes a musical tone that
resonates in the tub. To play the bass, stand with one foot on the tub to keep it steady on
the ground, and pluck away at the string.
H A M B O N E
H
In blues songs a hambone is typically a euphemism for a penis, although some female
blues singers have used it to refer to their own genitals. In the earliest recorded song to
h
the men up North:
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